What a food-service licence (licencia de restauración) is and how to check it in a listing

What the licence is, and what it is not

Professionals and listings use several names for the same idea: licencia de actividad (activity licence), licencia de apertura (opening licence) or licencia de funcionamiento (operating licence). Each is the municipal authorisation for a specific activity in a specific premises.

Many activities now start with a declaración responsable (a statement by the operator that the premises complies) in Madrid, or a comunicació prèvia (prior notification to the council) in Barcelona, rather than a licence granted in advance. In listings, 'licencia' can refer to any of these.

The activity type matters. A bar, a cafetería, a restaurante, a bar especial or an obrador (a production kitchen or bakery workshop) can be different activity classes, so a licence for one does not automatically cover another.

• Not a smoke outlet (salida de humos): the extraction duct is a physical installation, covered in our smoke outlet guide.
• Not a health registration: food-safety registration is a separate procedure.
• Not a terrace permit: a terrace on public space needs its own authorisation.

How Madrid and Barcelona process it

Madrid: the procedure is set by Ordenanza 6/2022, de 26 de abril, de Licencias y Declaraciones Responsables Urbanísticas, published in the BOCM on 17 May 2022. Most activities start by declaración responsable, which can be filed through an entidad colaboradora urbanística (ECU, an accredited body that checks the file). The city's open data portal (datos.madrid.es) publishes the Censo de Locales y Actividades, which records licences and declaraciones responsables.

Barcelona: the Ajuntament applies the OMAIIAA, its activities ordinance, and the annexes that classify activities. Bars and restaurants typically go through a comunicació prèvia with a technical project, which the Ajuntament lets you file online. The Generalitat's Canal Empresa describes the FUE (Finestreta Única Empresarial) procedure, including the communication for a change of ownership.

In Ciutat Vella, the Ajuntament's Pla d'usos can block new licences in areas it treats as saturated, so check the plan before assuming a new food activity can be authorised there.

Other municipalities have their own ordinances and procedures. Rules vary by municipality and change over time; this guide is not legal advice. Claro searches commercial premises across Spain by city or province; premises outside Madrid and Barcelona are added every night, and location figures and nearby places are shown for premises across Spain where available.

• Madrid: Ordenanza 6/2022 (BOCM, 17 May 2022); Censo de Locales y Actividades on the open data portal (datos.madrid.es).
• Barcelona: OMAIIAA and annexes; online processing of activities on the Ajuntament's website.
• Catalonia: Canal Empresa (Generalitat), FUE procedure and change-of-ownership communication.
• Ciutat Vella: Pla d'usos (Ajuntament de Barcelona).

Does the licence go with the premises or with the business?

Generally, the licence is tied to the premises and the activity, not to the person who runs it. If a new operator keeps the same activity, the licence can usually pass to them by cambio de titularidad (canvi de titularitat in Catalan), a change-of-ownership communication to the municipality. If the activity changes, a new procedure is needed.

In Barcelona, the Generalitat's Canal Empresa page sets out the communication for transferring a licence or the effects of a comunicació prèvia. In Madrid, the Censo de Locales y Actividades records the procedures for each establishment. Check the official page for your city before relying on a transfer; this is not legal advice.

• Same activity, new operator: usually a change of ownership.
• Different activity: a new licence, declaración responsable or comunicació prèvia.
• Licence not stated in the listing: ask the agent; do not assume either way.

How listings describe it, and how to read them

Listings use a short, recurring vocabulary. Claro reads the whole listing and quotes the sentence, so you see the exact phrase the agency used.

Claro marks the licence criterion met, not met or not stated for every premises and shows the evidence behind the verdict. 'Licencia en trámite' is quoted as written and not treated as met. A listing that does not mention a licence is marked not stated: the premises may hold one, or may not.

As of 10 October 2026, 651 retail premises for rent in Madrid stated a food-service licence in their listing, and 1,476 retail premises for rent in Barcelona did. Counts come from the agencies' listings Claro holds, in Casafari's property index, after merging duplicate listings and removing withdrawn premises, refreshed nightly; see how Claro checks listings and counts premises.

• 'Con licencia de restauración': the listing says the premises holds a food-service licence.
• 'Licencia de bar' or 'licencia de bar-restaurante': states an activity class; check it matches your concept.
• 'Licencia C1', 'C2' or 'C3' (Barcelona): colloquial names used in Barcelona for categories of licences for bars and restaurants, from bars without a kitchen to restaurants with a full kitchen and smoke extraction. The exact scope depends on the municipal regulation and must be confirmed with the Ajuntament. Claro quotes the code as written and does not reinterpret it.
• 'Licencia de bar especial' (Madrid): a distinct activity class; confirm its scope with the Ayuntamiento.
• 'Traspaso con licencia en vigor': a business transfer (traspaso) with a licence the listing says is in force.
• 'Licencia en trámite': an application in progress, not a licence.

Before you sign: how to verify

Claro narrows the agencies' listings it holds to premises whose listing states a licence. The municipality confirms whether that licence exists and what it covers.

• Ask the agent for the licence document or its file number (número de expediente).
• Madrid: check it through a consulta urbanística (planning enquiry) and the Censo de Locales y Actividades.
• Barcelona: use the Ajuntament's consultation of the permit to start an activity (consulta del permís per iniciar una activitat).
• Confirm the activity class matches your concept: bar, cafetería, restaurante, bar especial or obrador.
• Check whether the terrace, music and opening hours are covered or need separate permits.
• In a traspaso, confirm the licence is in force, not en trámite, and that the change of ownership will be filed.

Example brief and free search

Write the licence into your brief alongside the other technical needs; our guide to writing an expansion brief shows how. Claro turns each requirement into a criterion and checks every premises in the city or province you name against it, or across all of Spain if your brief names no place.

Each result shows met, not met or not stated per criterion with the quoted evidence, plus, where available, footfall and catchment figures from a Casafari group company for premises across Spain. For local counts and regulations, see the Madrid and Barcelona city pages.

• Food-service licence in force, quoted from the listing.
• Smoke outlet (salida de humos) stated in the listing.
• Previous use (uso anterior) as café or bakery.
• Street level (a pie de calle), size, shop window and rent ceiling.
• Residents within a 10-minute walk and weekday morning footfall.